African Swine Fever Spreads... Agriculture Ministry to Conduct Nationwide Inspections of Pig Farms and Slaughterhouses

Eleven ASF Cases Reported This Year
Quarantine Measures Strengthened, Including Nationwide Inspection of Dead Pigs at Pig Farms

As African swine fever (ASF) continues to spread, the government has decided to launch a nationwide inspection of pig farms and slaughterhouses.

The Central Accident Control Headquarters for ASF announced on February 12 that ASF had been confirmed at a farm in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province. The farm raises 5,223 pigs. With this case, the total number of ASF outbreaks this year has reached 11, which is about twice the total number of cases last year (6).

The Asia Business Daily

Due to the ASF outbreak at the Dangjin pig farm in South Chungcheong Province, 5,223 pigs will be culled, which is less than 0.04% of the total pig population of 11,754,000. An official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said, "The impact on domestic pork supply and demand is not significant. However, with the Lunar New Year holiday approaching, the Central Accident Control Headquarters will continue to closely monitor supply and demand conditions and ensure there are no disruptions in the management of livestock product supplies."

To prevent the spread of ASF, the Central Accident Control Headquarters decided to implement strengthened quarantine measures, including: nationwide simultaneous inspections of dead pigs at pig farms; inspections of pigs shipped to slaughterhouses; and continuous surveillance of pathological examination samples by utilizing private testing agencies.

First, simultaneous inspections will be carried out at 5,300 pig farms nationwide through February 28 to block the spread of the disease by detecting it early. To this end, the inspections will initially focus on dead pigs, which provide highly effective test samples, at 150 breeding pig farms and 271 specialized breeding farms that have a high risk of transmission, and will then be gradually expanded to general farms.

Pigs shipped to the 69 pig slaughterhouses nationwide will also be tested. By conducting these tests in parallel with inspections of dead pigs at pig farms nationwide, the authorities aim to strengthen the early detection system through a dual approach. Participation by private testing agencies will also be expanded. Samples submitted by pig farms across the country to private testing agencies for the purpose of early disease diagnosis will be subject to continuous surveillance and testing, and ASF tests will be conducted even when the samples are submitted under suspicion of similar diseases.

Jung-hoon Park, policy chief of the Food Grain Policy Office at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "There have been 11 ASF outbreaks this year, and the situation is grave due to concerns about additional cases," and requested, "As the movement of people and vehicles increases during the Lunar New Year holiday, please thoroughly disinfect areas around farms, main roads used by livestock vehicles, and livestock-related facilities on the 'National Simultaneous Disinfection Day' that will be implemented before and after the holiday, and also strengthen the promotion of quarantine guidelines to pig farmers and the general public."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.